The referee whistles the abandonment of the Kings Cup clash following the Racing Santander players' protest.

AFP: Ander Gillenea

The King's Cup descended into farce on Friday morning when Racing Santander's players, protesting over unpaid wages, refused to challenge for the ball after their quarter-final second leg at home to Real Sociedad kicked off.

The team formed a line around the centre circle immediately after the match began and Sociedad played the ball around in their own half for about a minute before the referee brought the game to a halt.

Rival players and coaching staff embraced in the centre of the pitch as the Santander fans chanted support for the home team's actions.

The Santander players announced on Monday they would boycott the match unless club president Angel Lavin and the board of the cash-strapped third tier side resigned.

Santander lost last week's first leg 3-1 at the Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian and their chances of making the last four and setting up a meeting with record King's Cup winners Barcelona were remote.